Every year, a new streaming service seems to try to get into the Christmas movie game. Netflix, for example, has its A Christmas Prince series and several other holiday offerings starring Lindsay Lohan, Vanessa Hudgens, and Jennifer Coolidge. To be fair, these contenders are solid entries into the holiday film genre.
However, it's hard to beat the Hallmark Channel at its own game. While its festive films may not be for everyone, their charm and cozy appeal at the end of each year are hard to deny. Their familiar formulas and feel-good energy keep us coming back for more each year.
Hallmark is starting things on Friday, Oct. 17, but the channel will have plenty of new films to get you through the latter half of the year. If you want to know which ones to prioritize on your calendar, check out these films that most caught our eye!
Nov. 9: A Keller Christmas Vacation
Jonathan Bennett may have gotten his big break as Regina George’s boy toy in Mean Girls, but he has grown into a beloved staple of Christmas at Hallmark. This year, he is starring and executive producing in A Keller Christmas Vacation, which is also based on his own family. The Keller parents decide to round up their adult children on a trip through Europe for Christmas this year. However, the family has drifted apart over the past 10 years, so coming back together may be more difficult than their parents hoped.
As previously mentioned, Bennett stars as the oldest son, Ben. However, the cast includes Brandon Routh, of Superman Returns and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World fame, as the middle child, Dylan. Eden Sher, aka Sue from sitcom The Middle, rounds out this star-studded film as the youngest sibling, Emory. If this isn’t enough, A Keller Christmas Vacation stands out in this year’s lineup as a film focusing on the importance of family this holiday season.
Nov. 16: Tidings For the Season
Another beloved star returns to Hallmark for Christmas this year — Tamera Mowry-Housley stars as Lucy in Tidings for the Season. The film follows Adam (B.J. Britt), a local newscaster who plans to move up in his career by focusing on reporting the serious side of the news. However, his plan is interrupted when he meets 10-year-old Adam (Elijah-Justus Lewis) and his mother, Lucy.
While it seems this film will feature romance, as all the best Hallmark Christmas films do, it also highlights the importance of community. It sounds like Adam will learn to lighten up and remember to highlight the good things in his life and the world around him, which is a valuable insight to hold onto year-round. It’s also always a pleasure to watch Mowry-Housely light up the screen, whether in reruns of Sister, Sister or her collaborations with Hallmark.
Nov. 30: Christmas at the Catnip Café
Admittedly, this one stands out because it sounds a little bonkers, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. Marketing executive Olivia (Erin Cahill) is shocked to learn that her great aunt left her half of a cat café in her will. She is desperate to sell the property, but has to convince Ben (Paul Campbell), a veterinarian and the co-owner. They come to a tentative agreement to sell after finding homes for all of the cats, but, of course, things are not likely to go as either of them expects.
Christmas at the Catnip Café is hyperspecific, and that’s what makes it sound so fun. It sounds like the perfect pick for someone who loves Christmas, cats, and the enemies-to-lovers trope. Plus, if you are tuned into the Hallmark Christmas universe, Cahill is a welcoming, familiar face, having previously starred in films like A Timeless Christmas and Christmas on Cherry Lane.
Dec. 6: She’s Making a List
Finally, we have something at least Santa adjacent and stars another Mean Girls alum. Lacey Chabert is back for more Christmas antics in She’s Making a List. Due to an overwhelming number of children that need to be added to Santa’s Naughty or Nice list, he has outsourced to Isabel’s (Chabert) consulting firm for help. Isabel uses the firm’s algorithm to make the tough calls, but the formula falls apart when she meets a troublesome young boy and his father (Andrew Walker).
She’s Making a List seems to check many Hallmark Christmas boxes. It features Santa, the introduction of cold corporate pragmatism to an otherwise jolly holiday, and the eventual thawing of the main character’s icy exterior. This sounds like the perfect follow-up to 2024’s meme-worthy Hot Frosty (one of those Netflix Christmas films), also starring Chabert as a woman who struggles to follow her heart.
Check out the full Countdown to Christmas schedule
The full Countdown to Christmas schedule is listed below. Check it out and see what else you want to add to your must-watch list!
Oct. 18: A Royal Montana Christmas
Oct. 19: A Christmas Angel Match
Oct. 25: Merry Christmas, Ted Cooper!
Nov. 1: Christmas on Duty
Nov. 2: A Newport Christmas
Nov. 8: Christmas Above the Clouds
Nov. 9: A Keller Christmas Vacation
Nov. 15: Three Wisest Men
Nov. 16: Tidings for the Season
Nov. 16: Tidings for the Season
Nov. 22: Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story
Nov. 23: Melt My Heart This Christmas
Nov. 27: We Met in December
Nov. 28: The Snow Must Go On
Nov. 28: The More the Merrier
Nov. 29: An Alpine Holiday
Nov. 29: A Grand Ole Opry Christmas
Nov. 30: The Christmas Cup
Nov. 30: Christmas the Catnip Cafe
Dec. 6: She’s Making a List
Dec. 7: Single on the 25th
Dec. 13: A Suite Holiday Romance
Dec. 14: Oy to the World!
Dec. 20: A Make or Break Holiday
Dec. 21: The Christmas Baby
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